Early Treatment

When a growing child has jaw bone imbalances such that one jaw is bigger or smaller than the other, Two Phase Growth Modification Treatment can help.

This treatment is a very specialized process that harnesses the growth potential of a child and re-directs jaw growth to rebalance facial harmony!

What is the advantage of Two Phase Growth Modification Treatment?

The biggest advantage of Growth Modification is to maximize growth opportunity to achieve ideal healthy, functional, aesthetic results. This leads to less complicated treatment in future by minimizing bony discrepancy early.

Growth Modification can treat reverse bites in a child, protruded front teeth, some types of crooked faces, open bites and deep bites. Patients with front teeth that protrude out severely are at increased risk of teeth fracture during a fall. Growth modification can help reduce this danger.

What if I delay treatment?

If your child has a jaw imbalance, waiting for complete eruption of permanent teeth and having only one phase of treatment means missing the important growth window.

Once this window of growth has passed, treatment may become more complicated later; may need jaw surgery or if treating with braces only, mean a compromise in aesthetics and stability.

Growing and developing children sometimes exhibit early signs of jaw problems.

An upper or lower jaw that is growing too much or too little can be recognized at an early age.

If your child is 6 years and older with jaw imbalances, they can benefit from early orthodontic treatment.

Call us for an appointment because we can help! Planning now can save your child’s smile!

Resting Period and Monitoring your child’s teeth’s progress

In this phase, the remaining permanent teeth are allowed to erupt because at the end of Phase One treatment, teeth are usually not in their final positions.

Regular 4- 6 monthly recall appointments for observation are necessary to ensure that the rest of the adult teeth are erupting in the correct sequence and position.

Second Phase Treatment: Building an even better smile from strong foundations

The second phase is started when almost all permanent teeth have erupted, and usually requires braces for a period of time. The first phase molds the face, while the second phase focuses on the arrangement of teeth.

Retainers are worn at the end of treatment to maintain your child’s beautiful, new smile.

Why are children being evaluated at such an early age?

Early diagnosis and treatment can guide erupting teeth into a more favorable position, preserve space for permanent teeth, and reduce the likelihood of fracturing protruded front teeth.

If early treatment is indicated, Dr. Schacher can guide the growth of the jaw and incoming permanent teeth. Early treatment can also regulate the width of the upper and lower dental arches, gain space for permanent teeth, avoid the need for permanent tooth extractions, reduce the likelihood of impacted permanent teeth, correct thumb sucking, and eliminate abnormal swallowing or speech problems. In other words, early treatment can simplify later treatment, after all the permanent teeth erupt.

Does early treatment benefit all children?

Yes if treatment is needed. However, if the doctor decides the patient is not ready for treatment, they are placed in our orthodontic observation program.

What is the Orthodontic Supervisory Program?

The orthodontic observation program is for patients who are not ready for treatment and have been placed on recall. This program enables Dr. Schacher to monitor the eruptive pattern of the permanent teeth. Sometimes, poor erupted patterns of permanent teeth may be eliminated with early removal of baby teeth and reduce the treatment time required for braces. We will notify your general dentist of any recommendations made during your visit. We normally see the patients on recall every 4-6 months to observe their progress as they grow. There is no fee for this program and it helps the orthodontist determine the optimum time to begin treatment and achieve the best possible result for your child.

In addition to a beautiful new smile, what are some other benefits of orthodontic treatment?

Braces can improve function of the bite and teeth, improve ability to clean the teeth, prevent wear on the teeth, and increase the longevity of natural teeth over a lifetime.

If a child has treatment early, will this prevent the need for braces as an adolescent?

Early treatment can begin the correction of significant problems, prevent more severe problems from developing, and simplify future treatment. Because all of the permanent teeth have not yet erupted when early treatment is performed, their final alignment may not have been corrected. Typically, a shortened comprehensive phase of treatment (Phase II – full braces) in the teen years, after all the permanent teeth have erupted, completes the correction. However, in some circumstances, further orthodontic treatment may not be indicated.

Do we still need to see our family dentist during orthodontic treatment?

Patients with braces and other orthodontic appliances require more effort to keep their teeth and gums clean. Because Dr. Schacher wants to insure the highest level of dental health, they will encourage you to see your family dentist for regular check-ups and cleanings during treatment.

When Jay was 7 his parents noticed a problem with his bite. Jay had an Anterior Crossbite (his teeth together his upper teeth closed behind his lower teeth) and he also had a Bi-lateral Contraction of the Maxilla (which means his upper jaw or maxilla was too narrow) on the right side. Because of his upper narrow jaw, it caused his lower jaw to shift to the right when he closed. Jay completed an early treatment phase of orthodontic treatment to correct the crossbite, contraction and shift. (Phase 1).Congratulations Jay! Great job! ... See MoreSee Less